AlexMBAApply wrote:
It's all over the place, and it changes with the times and economic cycles.
Keep in mind that any sort of internal consulting (or whatever it's called - corporate development, strategy, etc.) is a cost center. That means it's not a group that is tied to a specific product or service line - it's job isn't to help build a product/service, or to sell a product/service.
And like any cost center, it's always hard to justify your existence. I know the job sounds cool to many MBAs because it's all "big picture" and appeals to their God complex, but more often than not it's really a temporary thing (a glorified rotational program that cycles you through and spits you out into a business unit), or it's the servant's quarters that service the executives so to speak (which they will promote as "you get exposure to the highest levels of the firm" - but you're basically there to crunch numbers and provide research for them). Better to be the Duke (head of a business unit) than the head butler (Corp Dev head) to the King and Queen if you know what I mean.
The political power in any business lies in the jobs that are revenue generating - jobs where you are either making the product, or selling it.
Thank you Alex! Your input definitely helps.
I am looking at those internal consulting units which are similar to rotational programs. My guess is the difference is only in the name, not the function. The ones I looked at are shaped like this: work in different business units and then get an assignment in a specific BU. My goal is to move to a general management role after the tenure of the program. Does it become extremely difficult to move into a business unit for somebody who was part of the Internal Consulting unit of the firm since he/she becomes part of Corp Development by default or does it vary from one firm to another?
Cheers!